As I noted pretty recently, G5 Entertainment can safely be called the reigning kings of both Hidden Object and Time Management genres. You can imagine my surprise then when shortly before Christmas, I received an invitation from them to review Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World (Full) – a traditional point-and-tap adventure that feels like it’s plucked right out from the golden age of the genre. Still expecting that something’s amiss, I dove into the game.

There’s no question Super Crate Box is a silly game. You basically run around one of three levels collecting crates and killing monsters to stay alive. It’s like a side view FPS with no fancy graphics and no point. The funny thing is that it is also one of the most addictive games I’ve played in quite a while, and that says a lot since I’ve spent almost every day for the past week playing Treasures of Montezuma 3. There’s something about the simplicity of the game combined with the retro pixel graphics that to me makes it a whole lot more interesting than the previously released Muffin Knight, a game clearly inspired by this one. All I know is I’m glad to be part of the crate collecting revolution.

Long before there were glorious multi-screen scrolling shooters, games like Space Invaders and Asteroids blazed a trail of their own by making single screen shooters with simple mechanics addictive. From time to time modern developers have tried to recapture that magic with varying degrees of success, but for me none have really done the concept justice. That is, of course, until Super Crossfire HD came around. The mechanics and visuals are old school, but things like particle effects and adjustable stats give it a modern flare. Even if you resigned yourself to believing that there is no going back once you tasted the “freedom” of a scrolling shooter, you need to give this one screen wonder a try.

Have you wondered what’s out there in the great beyond? Are you a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars or Babylon 5? Have you ever dreamt of exploring new worlds, discovering ancient artifacts and meeting aliens? Well, settle in my dear friend, as now you can do all of that in the comfort of your own living room! Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and the creativity of some indie devs, the full experience has essentially been recreated in Weird Worlds: Return To Infinite Space.

The Back to the Future trilogy is my favourite movie franchise of all time. Unfortunately as far as game-implementations go, it’s has never had much luck. The late 80’s and early 90’s console and PC adaptations were boring, virtually unplayable arcade games. But when developer Telltale announced that they were going to be revisiting the franchise in my favourite genre of adventure games – I was beside myself with anticipation. And what better platform to experience a Back to the Future game than on the futuristic iPad in Back to the Future HD!

Picture it: Roswell, New Mexico, some time in the 1950’s. Aliens have crash landed and they just want to get home. Sophia Petrillo might tell a more fanciful tale, but you get the idea (though you might not get the reference). Anyway, The Marbians is a cute little marble puzzle game with an alien theme that’s actually both fun and challenging, especially if you want to get top scores, walk away with all the moon rocks, or both. Besides, this has one of the best soundtracks for this type of game I’ve heard.

Regardless of my complete lack of adoration for Flash-based games, it wouldn’t be fair to say nothing good has ever come out of them. Even more so, a few Flash titles have enjoyed release as standalone products over the years and have gained immense popularity. And no, I’m not talking about those millions of casual time-wasters. I’m talking about the unique masterpieces by Amanita Design – Samorost 1 and 2, which paved the way for the genius Machinarium. Well guess what? The latter has finally found its way onto the iOS as an iPad 2 exclusive.

When STREET FIGHTER IV (TMA Review) first released for the iPhone, it redefined in many ways the arcade fighting arena on the platform. Granted, we did have some quality titles before that, like Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior (TMA Review), but the adaptation of the legendary franchise was the first to bring the true console experience to iOS. But one thing was missing, and a crucial thing for any arcade fighting at that. I’m talking of course, about multiplayer. Well, fans of beating your friends to a pulp, rejoice, as this has been remedied with the release of STREET FIGHTER IV VOLT.

Every once in a while, a game along and makes me truly admire the deviousness of the mind of its creator. The Tower Defense genre, though still relatively young, has probably seen everything but the kitchen sink in terms of gameplay variations. Top and side-view, fixed and open path, lacking in anything but the pure tactical placement of towers and the complete RPG package, rivalling some desktop roleplaying titles. We’ve even had elements of CCG thrown in. Well, Anomaly Warzone Earth HD is the proverbial kitchen sink, turning the genre upside down and inside out.